


Interlude: Sticks and Stones

by ProcioneRenaissanceArcana (wanderlustnostalgia)



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Bullying, Canon-Typical Violence, Dessert & Sweets, Fluff, Gen, Harassment, Hurt/Comfort, Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderlustnostalgia/pseuds/ProcioneRenaissanceArcana
Summary: Hibari finds I-Pin after a run-in with some bullies.
Relationships: Hibari Kyouya & I-Pin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Interlude: Sticks and Stones

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by ["Unwanted Attention"](https://foreverfamilyforevervongola.tumblr.com/post/180927852226/unwanted-attention) by foreverfamilyforevervongola on Tumblr.
> 
> Hibari definitely has a soft spot for I-Pin. That's one thing I'm taking from the anime and I'm sticking with it.
> 
> I didn't want to specify any of the names they called her, and I'll leave that up to your interpretation. I-Pin is about twelve here (old enough to attend Namimori Middle), and Hibari is (per headcanon) TAing in addition to working with the Vongola.

It should have been easy.

I-Pin had fought worse enemies before, had been since she was five. The boys who’d cornered her hadn’t carried any weapons, didn’t fight with pistols or daggers or flames the way most of her opponents did, and though they were bigger and older than her, they’d easily buckled under her touch.

So why couldn’t she move?

Why was she stuck in the Nami Middle parking lot, knees hugged to her chest, shoulders shaking, silent tears streaming down her cheeks? Why were the insults they’d shouted at her before running off still ringing through her ears, harsh and ugly?

Why did the words hurt so much?

If only Lambo was here. Lambo was good with words.

But he was home sick, and she was alone, her phone broken in the fight and her glasses knocked across the lot. Worse, one of the boys had managed to run off with her wallet. She couldn’t even buy him his favorite strawberry cream cake like she wanted to. And those words, those terrible words too awful for her to voice aloud, kept echoing in her head, taunting her.

What kind of assassin was she?

“I-Pin! I-Pin!”

I-Pin looked up, squinting against the light. Two blurry silhouettes appeared before her, one standing tall and proud and the other hovering in mid-air, chirping her name.

Of everyone who could have found her, she was glad it was Hibari.

She didn’t think she could face anyone else.

Wordlessly, he held out her glasses. The lenses were chipped around the edges, and one of the arms bent askew, but she could still see through them. As the world shifted into focus, she could see he was scowling.

That, and he was holding his tonfas.

“Please don’t bite anyone to death,” she said, holding out her fists. Her knuckles stung, splitting and bruised. “I already took care of it.”

I-Pin’s hands trembled, despite her best efforts to remain still, hold firm like Master Fon had taught her. Hibari’s eyes drifted from the bruises to the shattered phone at her side to the remnants of the fight: blood, spit, a few loose teeth. She hadn’t meant to leave such a mess.

“They’re still standing?” The look in his eyes reminded her a lot of Master Fon.

I-Pin nodded. “I just wanted them to leave me alone. They took my wallet.”

Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if she’d used the Gyoza Kempo like Lambo kept telling her to. But school was the only place where she didn’t have to worry about fulfilling her duty to the Vongola, where she could be a normal kid. And even then, people didn’t see her or Lambo as normal. They saw them as freaks, or worse—

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out. The voices only got louder.

“Where?” Hibari asked.

I-Pin pointed vaguely in the direction the boys had gone.

“How many?”

“Four…no, five.” By now she’d buried her head in her knees.

“A herd.” Hibari scoffed. “How typical.”

I-Pin sniffled.

“Get up.”

I-Pin blinked, opening her eyes. Hibari was still looking at her, still frowning, still holding the tonfas. He’d never hit her with the tonfas before, but she didn’t want to chance it.

She stood up, wiping her tears with her sleeve. Hibari nodded approvingly.

“Defamatory language is against school policy,” he said. “As is stealing. Come with me.”

They found the boys in the alleyway, where Hibari made quick work of them with his tonfas. The walls were spattered with blood, and I-Pin wondered if he’d teach her to fight like that one day, though she hoped she wouldn’t actually need it.

“Are they dead?” she asked as she peered into the alley, at the bodies crumpled on the ground.

Hibari brushed the dust off his sleeves. “They underestimated the will of a small animal,” he said. “The consequences of their carelessness are of no concern to the Disciplinary Committee.”

“Confiscate!” Hibird chirped, dropping I-Pin’s wallet into her hands. It had been knocked loose in the fight, and as she counted the banknotes, she realized she still had just enough money for Lambo’s cake.

“Here.” From one of the boys’ wallets, Hibari produced two banknotes and handed them to I-Pin. “Finder’s fee.”

I-Pin stared at the money. With all this…she could buy a lot more than just a cake.

“Thank you,” she said. Then, bravely, she tugged on Hibari’s sleeve. “Could you walk me to the bakery?”

In addition to Lambo’s strawberry cream cake, I-Pin found herself with an endless amount of desserts to choose from. She ordered a random assortment of baker’s picks for Fuuta, Haru, Kyoko, and Chrome to split between them, plus a slice of tiramisu for Gokudera, some matcha shortbread for Yamamoto, and a lemon square for Ryohei. For Tsuna, her favorite big brother, she picked out the richest-looking slice of chocolate cake in the display case.

For herself, I-Pin bought three red bean cream puffs, because Haru and Kyoko had taught her that she deserved nice things on bad days. The cashier ended up giving her two bags, but Hibari let her carry both of them herself, something Tsuna and the others would never have let her do. They were full, but I-Pin managed the walk with ease, Hibird chirping along beside her the whole way.

Tsuna’s eyes went wide as saucers when she arrived home with Hibari, even more so as she handed him one of the bags. The other she held onto, setting it gently on the lawn.

“Wait, please,” she told Hibari. She reached into the bag, opened one of the boxes, and pulled out a custard cream bun. She didn’t know what Hibari liked, since he was never around as much, but they were Master Fon’s favorite. “For helping me,” she said. “Thank you again.”

By the time she’d finished bowing, he was gone.

The next day, with Lambo back in school (“I HAVE BEEN CURED BY THE POWER OF CAKE!”), her knuckles healed (“My Sun Flames will fix your bruises to the extreme!”), and those awful boys nowhere to be found (“mysteriously missing,” her classmates whispered in the hallways), I-Pin received an envelope from a terrified-looking office aide. Inside was a red armband, inscribed with the words “Namimori Disciplinary Committee,” as well as a note. The script was clean and precise, just like her master’s.

 _The words of others do not change who you are,_ it read. _Your pride lives inside you. Only you can define it._

_It is something they can never destroy._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm very fond of the Vongola kids and I really wanted to explore their relationships with each of the (in Lambo's case, fellow) Guardians.


End file.
